Chapter 340
Chapter 340
“Y-you…”
The eunuch was so horrified that he collapsed onto the floor.
“Young Master, I… this servant only came to deliver the imperial edict!”
Terrified that Ji Yan’an might lose control and kill him too, he scrambled onto his knees and kowtowed.
Ji Yan’an looked at him with a cold expression.
“Take all of them away.”
He did not want blood spilled in the mourning hall and his grandmother’s peace disturbed.
This time, however, he had completely broken with the Imperial Court.
He did not care how the court reacted. His grandmother’s funeral mattered most right now.
Nor did he try to stop news from leaving.
Word that Ji Yan’an had destroyed the imperial edict soon reached Capital City.
The emperor flew into a rage and hurled everything on his desk that could be smashed.
The people kneeling below trembled. Even when something struck them, they did not dare move.
“Ji Yan’an! Why won’t he die? Why won’t he just die?!”
The emperor’s eyes were bloodshot as he raged through the palace hall.
“Your Majesty!”
A cold voice rang out, and the frenzied emperor instantly settled down like a dog soothed by a stroke of the hand.
“Aunt.”
He looked toward the doorway.
A richly dressed woman entered.
She was Princess Huiling, the reigning emperor’s paternal aunt.
She glanced indifferently at the servants kneeling on the floor.
“Why are you all standing around? Clean this place up.”
The people on the floor hurried into action.
Princess Huiling glanced at a guard beside her.
The guard slipped away quietly. Before long, the servants who had just been in the hall would become cold corpses.
“Aunt, Ji Yan’an didn’t die. He has complete control of Mobei, and he commands so many troops. If he attacks…”
He might not have been a good emperor, but he loved wealth and luxury, and he was afraid of death.
Princess Huiling remained perfectly composed.
“Why panic?”
“When disaster befell the Ji Family, we weren’t the only ones involved. How many of those great clans and court officials played no part at all?”
She sneered. “They’re more anxious than we are. Those great clans have enjoyed wealth and privilege for so many years and value their family reputations above everything. If that madman Ji Yan’an truly fights his way here, do they imagine they’ll escape?”
Her beautifully maintained fingers leisurely removed an ornate hairpin from her hair and toyed with it.
“At court tomorrow, you need only tell everyone that Ji Yan’an has learned what happened to the Ji Family back then. The officials afraid their clans will be implicated will naturally devise plans for you.”
“Those cunning old foxes become far more ruthless than us when their own interests are threatened.”
Emperor Yang Yan’s eyes lit up. He immediately clung to Princess Huiling’s arm and wheedled like a child.
“Aunt always knows what to do. Those court officials are useless. When I asked them for solutions today, every one of them hunched their shoulders and kept silent, as though Ji Yan’an already had a sword against their necks!”
“Aunt truly is the best. You’re the only one who really thinks of me.”
A smile appeared on Princess Huiling’s face as she stroked his head.
“Of course. I’m the person closest to you, so naturally I must help you.”
But her smile held mockery and bitter coldness.
After returning from the palace to her princess’s residence, Princess Huiling gave a soft laugh.
“Imperial Brother, oh Imperial Brother. If your spirit still lingers in heaven and you can see your son being so useless that he needs his aunt to make every decision, I wonder what expression you’d wear.”
As she spoke, she began laughing.
“Hahaha…”
Her smile was like that of a madwoman.
“What a pity, Mother. Imperial Brother.”
“What a pity you’ll never see it.”
Princess Huiling hummed as she took a pair of scissors and cut down, one by one, the precious flowers blooming beautifully in the room.
“They’re ruined. Bring me several more pots of pretty flowers.”
The next day, the emperor followed Princess Huiling’s plan and threatened certain people. As expected, several faces turned extremely ugly.
Back then, the Ji Family commanded the greatest military power, and their grandson through his mother was the most promising Crown Prince.
Among those present, some had colluded with other imperial consorts, while others had found the Ji Family blocking their path. All had played some part in framing and isolating the Ji Family, ultimately leaving them to die in battle without aid.
The Ji Family’s deaths naturally dealt a devastating blow to the Crown Prince and the empress.
In the end, both were poisoned to death.
Ji Yan’an had been very young, but they knew how deeply he held grudges.
To avoid leaving evidence, the Imperial Court treated the Ji Family well in public and praised the entire clan as loyal heroes. In secret, however, they poisoned Ji Yan’an and arranged repeated assassination attempts.
Everyone understood the need to tear weeds out by the roots.
But no one had expected Ji Yan’an to be so difficult to kill.
After being poisoned, he became even more fearless and cursed anyone he pleased.
Assassins could not kill him, and even while poisoned, he dragged his sick body around as lively as ever.
How many people had they sent after him on his journey to Mobei? Yet he still reached Mobei safely.
Now the poison that supposedly had no antidote had been cured, and despite his young age, he had gained complete control over the northern forces.
To put it bluntly, he could declare himself king without difficulty.
He posed an even greater threat than the Prince of Nanyang.
Everyone could only marvel at how impossible Ji Yan’an was to kill.
An elderly official stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, perhaps we can make use of the Ji Family’s relatives who still live in Capital City.”
The moment he said this, everyone’s gaze toward him changed.
“Your Majesty, you absolutely must not! Such an act would leave you cursed for a thousand generations! The daughters of the Ji Family who married out long ago no longer have anything to do with the clan. Even if harming them could threaten Ji Yan’an – which is uncertain – it would surely cost you the people’s support completely!”
Yang Yan sneered. He did not care about the people’s support.
They were only lowly commoners. How could they compare to his own safety?
Still, he wanted to see whether another solution existed first.
At last, an old general stepped forward and declared that he was willing to lead troops against Ji Yan’an.
The emperor said, “Good. Old General Song, I give you an army of one hundred thousand. You must capture Ji Yan’an!”
The old general smiled bitterly, but in the end he knelt and accepted the edict.
Naturally, news from Capital City soon reached Ji Yan’an as well.
At that moment, he was studying a defense map.
“Old General Song?”
Ji Yan’an’s voice was calm. “What a pity.”
Old General Song actually had a fairly good relationship with the Ji Family.
When the emperor had wanted to frame the Ji Family on false charges and kill Ji Yan’an along with them, Old General Song had been the one to intercede.
But their positions were different now, and they stood on opposing sides.
Old General Song was also fiercely loyal. He currently posed no threat to Yang Yan, so the Song Family remained unharmed.
Old General Song might well know that Yang Yan was no wise ruler, but his loyalty was truly blind.
He stubbornly gave his loyalty only to the emperor.
“Make preparations. Let’s go meet Old General Song.”